Rare Uzes cabinet, 18th century
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12000 € (port +150€)
Armoires, Louis XIV, XVIII

Rare small Uzès cabinet in polychrome painted wood on its three sides with a black background.

Each of the two doors is adorned with three scalloped reserves decorated with animated landscapes with a waterfall and painted scenes of Italian inspiration. These cartouches are framed by scrolls of flowers and foliage.

The frame of the cabinet takes up this natural theme: flowers and foliage are represented in a vast palette of colors.

The piece is enhanced with touches of gold.

A monogram at the top in the center of stylized and interwoven initials refers to the supposed function of the Uzes wardrobe to accommodate the trousseau of the young brides.

The four-shelf interior is lined with wallpaper as was customary on the few existing Uzes cabinets, in this case red and gold.

Uzès region, Gard, Period late 18th century - Early 19th century.

Usual restorations.

Rare item.


For more information on the Uzes cabinet we refer you to the very good article by Madame Céline Autant present below and to the website of Madame Monique Maindret: http://www.meublepeint.com/armoire_d_uzes.htm

"The terminology: cabinet” of Uzès ”remains without real justification, even if one considers that the small town of Uzès, raised in the 14th century, becomes in the 16th century the first Duchy of France. The origins of the so-called cabinet of 'Uzès still remains a mystery Many hypotheses have been put forward to explain the Italian decorations and the ornaments which recall the style of Bérain, very popular under Louis XIV.

The so-called "Uzès" cabinet is a modest-sized Provencal cabinet that dates back to the end of the 17th century; it was made in Uzès but it is also found in the Ales region. Small proportions, they are made of linden, fir or chestnut, to be painted with polychrome decorations.

Decorated by Italian artisans who introduced the fashion for painted furniture, the Uzès wardrobe was often used as a wedding cabinet to store the bride's trousseau. Still very simple in architecture with flat doors; the painted nets and friezes were intended to compensate for the lack of moldings. It did not change much until the 19th century apart from the more ornate lower crosspiece and cornice.

The oldest decorations are very sober: crown, number, ribbon and palms on a black or very dark green background, some elements are gold. Over time, the decors became richer, Uzès cabinets flourished in a more varied range of colors: different greens, turquoise, gray, blue, blue-gray, red and even ivory. It is decorated with monograms, count crowns, portraits of future spouses, landscapes, architectural elements, embellished with floral bouquet, foliage, ribbons, angels and grotesques.

You can admire it in the museums of old Nîmes, old Aix en Provence, Uzès, at the Villa Provençale in Marseille. "Céline Autant.